US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,189 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 4,621 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth $40,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 242.2% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Western Digital Trading Down 2.7%
WDC stock opened at $73.78 on Thursday. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $78.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $63.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.13. The company has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.58.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.
Western Digital announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Western Digital Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush upped their target price on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.74.
Check Out Our Latest Report on WDC
About Western Digital
(
Free Report)
Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.
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